Parenting styles, family social economic status and conduct disorder among adolescents

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between Parenting Styles, Family Social Economic Status and Conduct Disorder among adolescents. In Uganda, adolescent conduct disorder is a great problem to urban centers and families because it impairs an adolescent’s social, academic and family functioning hence a threat to the general public. A comparative study design was used. There were two groups of adolescents (N-186) aged 12 to 18 years at KNRC with conduct disorder (N=93) and without CD (N=93). Parenting Styles Inventory measured parenting style, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Demographic Surveillance Social Economic Status Assessment tool II measured family SES and Conduct Disorder Diagnostic tool measured Conduct Disorder. To test hypothesis 1 and 2 one way Anova was used, hypothesis 3 correlation was used and hypothesis 4 was tested using the 4 step regression analysis (Baron & Kenny, 1986). Data was analyzed using SPSS. Majority of respondents (76.3%) were aged 15-18, female respondents were (32.8%) and male respondents (67.2%). The reliability score of Parenting Styles Inventory was 0.78, Social Economic Status Assessment Tool scored 0.74 and Conduct Disorder Diagnostic tool 0.80. There was no significant difference in the parenting styles used by parents of adolescents with conduct disorder compared to those without conduct Disorder. A significant difference was found in the family SES of adolescents with Conduct Disorder compared to those without conduct disorder at P< .05 level ( F(1, 184) = 4.8, p = 03). Conduct Disorder was significantly correlated with family SES (r=.19**, p=.01< .01). Parenting styles did not mediate the relationship between family SES and Conduct Disorder. The study provided sufficient evidence to conclude that regardless of a parenting style used an adolescent can develop Conduct Disorder, adolescents with CD were mainly from families with high SES, an increase in SES leads to an increase in CD symptoms and Parenting Styles independently influence Conduct Disorder and family SES does not influence CD through Parenting Styles.